


Burned Too Brightly

by mickeymouseno1



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M, Reminiscence, humans of new york, past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 14:41:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6709051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickeymouseno1/pseuds/mickeymouseno1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes the people we would take a bullet for are the ones behind the trigger<br/>- Fall Out Boy</p><p>Ian Gallagher talks to Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York) about his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burned Too Brightly

**Author's Note:**

> Procrastinating by scrolling the Humans of New York feed inspired me to do this.
> 
> I did not create any of the images in this (massive shoutout to all those who did!)

_Sometimes the people we would take a bullet for are the ones behind the trigger._

\- Fall Out Boy

(1/6)

“In a few years, we went through more than what most relationships ever go through. When we first met, he threatened to kill me. We ended up banging a couple of days later. He was always so scared though. Whenever we were in public, he would retreat behind this homophobic thug persona. It took a few months before we finally kissed. Then, the next day, it all came crashing down.”

(2/6)

“When he finally kissed me, I remember feeling like I was flying. But the next day, his dad caught us. and pistol-whipped us until we were half-unconscious. I was forced to watch as a prostitute came over to rape him a gunpoint. She was pregnant a week later. The guy I had been falling for retreated even further behind his walls. After their wedding, I remember I was so angry at him for not doing anything about it, for not admitting that he loved me. And I couldn’t stay there any longer.”

(3/6)

“The army was… interesting. All my life, I’d dreamed of serving my country by fighting some force of terror, but the real thing was nowhere near as exciting. The repetition and the monotony was just stifling. Then life threw another curveball at me.”

(4/6)

“I crashed one of their helicopters. They kicked me out. I spent the next few months dancing in clubs back in Chicago. He finally found me again. It was like re-surfacing. We picked up right where we’d left off until he finally did it. He came out in front a packed bar and his dad bashed him but it was worth it because we were finally free. Until I crashed again.”

(5/6)

“Accepting you’re bipolar, that you’re the one in your family with the messed-up genes is hard. It’s admitting that you’re not perfect, that you’re just as broken as everyone else. And he was there the whole time, making me take my meds, watching my every move. And the man who I’d been yearning for all these years ago, I now had, but couldn’t stand anymore.”

(6/6)

“It’s been a hard couple of years. I finally got my GED and managed to pass the EMT exam. I finally feel like I have a purpose again. But, I’ll always regret what finally pushed me there. You shouldn’t have to set yourself on fire to warm the ones you love. His sister used to be my best friend. She no longer talks to me.”

 


End file.
